Mayors of 10 leading cities sign open letter calling for greater support as COP27 begins

The Mayors of 10 leading cities, including London, Tokyo and Accra, have signed an open letter in the Financial Times today, calling for greater investment in cities to get the World’s To-Do List done.

In the letter, city leaders from five continents called on their national counterparts to unlock the finance to invest in reducing emissions and creating good green jobs, as they acknowledge that none of the Global Goals will be achieved without tackling climate change.

The letter comes as world leaders gather in Sharm El Sheik for COP27, where a focus is being placed on finding the finance to meet the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees. In particular, the need to direct funding for adaptation and resilience to countries in the global south, where the worst impacts of the climate crisis are already being felt. This comes as a recent study by Carbon Brief shone a light on the gulf between pledges made by major economies and the finance that has so far been delivered.

As cities are home to over half the world’s population and responsible for 70% of carbon emissions, Mayors and city leaders are key leaders in the fight against climate change. This month, a number of C40 cities will be represented at COP27, including Austin, Dhaka and Freetown. Their message to world leaders is simple: The best way to protect people from climate change and rising prices is to invest in cleaner, greener and fairer cities, not fossil fuels. 

Read the full letter below:

Learn more about C40 at C40.org.